City’s financial practices help them stay the course during tough economic times.
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Next year’s Santa Clarita City budget was revealed to the City Council Tuesday night to the tune of nearly 165 million dollars.
City Manager Ken Pulskamp presented a balanced budget that was 4% larger than the current year’s. Revenue projections were down this year, however they were estimated at $180 million, more than enough to pay for the spending proposals.
Of all of the sources of revenue the City cites, five are responsible for a vast majority of the yearly budget. They include, in order; sales tax, property tax, property tax in lieu, developer fees and franchise fees.
Highlights of next year’s Santa Clarita budget expenditures:
Two patrol deputies: $319,730
Commercial enforcement deputy and vehicle: $212,685
Cemex opposition: $200,000
New city-wide art projects: $30,000
Marketing for Old Town Newhall: $100,000
Community preservation officer: $68,008
Decreases from the current budget were seen in the City’s capital projects. $25 million was set aside, down 19% from this year.
Several key projects were listed as priority, including phase 4 of the Santa Clarita Sports Complex additions. However, no funding for the construction of the additions has been included in the proposed budget. Instead, City Manager Ken Pulskamp said that he wants to wait until the bids are received for the construction, and then come back to the council with that direct request for the money, which is estimated to be in the neighborhood of $20 million.
Staff will also move forward on plans for an expansion at Central Park, and various Old Town Newhall improvements, even though their costs were not reflected in the budget. This is due to the fact that Pulskamp would like to wait until January to get a more realistic picture of how much revenue the City will have before deciding to allocate money in the budget for the projects. He believes that by doing this, the City can better gauge the impact of the economic downturn.
To note the importance of the City’s budgeting in years past, Pulskamp noted that the City has taken steps to ensure that the agenda important to its constituents is not regulated by the peaks and valleys of the economic cycle. “Our city’s conservative approach has prepared us,” he said, pointing to the fact that a 15% operating reserve has been maintained by the CIty.
City Manager Ken Pulskamp (right) presents the City's next fiscal year budget.
Such practices have made new projects possible. New this year is a plan to acquire land for a Community Center in Canyon Country. Last year’s budget included a feasibility study into the project, and now the City is continuing on with their search for a site.
Work on another highly anticipated project, a joint City/County Civic Center will continue, as negotiations and plans are drawn up.
Our City Council did act to change one item on the budget. Currently, the Santa Clarita Senior Center is in financial crisis, as their funding is shrinking while the need for their services increases. The City already provides hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Center, although Pulskamp noted that a recent request for $75,000 in additional funds had been received by the City. Of that, only $25,000 was provided to the Center in the budget proposal as a cost of living increase.
Council members Laurene Weste, Marsha McLean and Mayor Bob Kellar all asked for the City to provide the remaining $50,000 requested, and the whole Council approved that change.
On June 24th, the budget will be officially voted on by the Council.
Also in Council news, the Valencia High School Boys Volleyball team was congratulated for their success being named the best High School Volleyball team in the Country.
Additionally, Assistant Fire Chief Matt Gill was honored for his service to Santa Clarita. Gil has retired from the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
